STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (WHTM) – No. 7 Penn State returns home for its annual White Out on Saturday to face No. 24 Iowa in its second Big Ten matchup of the season.

Last time out

Penn State (3-0, 1-0 Big Ten)

Penn State opened Big Ten play on Sept. 16 with a 30-13 defeat over Illinois. It was a sluggish performance from Drew Allar who went just 16 for 33 in passing with 208 yards, though he has been efficient with a 78% pass completion percentage entering Saturday’s game.

The defense was the star of the game, forcing Illinois starting quarterback Luke Altmyer to throw four interceptions, leading to him being benched. Abdul Carter, Johnny Dixon, Cam Miller and Daequan Hardy all executed interceptions for Penn State.

Kobe King led with four solo tackles and Coziah Izzard put up two sacks for 21 yards in the win.

Kaytron Allen was the leader on offense with 57 rushing yards for one touchdown for the Nittany Lions.

Iowa (3-0)

This will be the first Big Ten meeting of the season for the Iowa Hawkeyes. Last Saturday, they earned their third win of the season over Western Michigan with a 41-10 final.

Iowa’s starting quarterback Cade McNamara was 9 for 19 in passes for 103 yards with two passing touchdowns. McNamara rushed five times for a total gain of 8 yards and a loss of 41.

Leshon Williams led the rushing game with 12 attempts for 145 positive yards with a long of 53 yards. Kamari Moulton posted two rushing touchdowns off eight attempts for an average of 6.3 yards per play.

Williams had one receiving touchdown along with Diante Vines.

Quinn Schulte led the defense with five solo tackles and one assist. Both Nick Jackson and Jay Higgins posted four solo tackles with five assists.

Iowa was able to hold Western Michigan scoreless the entire second half while they ran their lead up by adding 27 more points.

Dissecting Iowa

Iowa shares the same record as Penn State, sitting with an undefeated 3-0 record. Besides Western Michigan, they have defeated Iowa State and Utah State.

Last season, Iowa finished 8-5 overall and 5-4 in the Big Ten. They shut out Kentucky 21-0 in the TransPerfect Music City Bowl to close out the year.

Iowa is under the guidance of Head Coach Kirk Ferentz who is in his 25th year at the helm of the Hawkeyes. Ferentz has led Iowa to 20 bowl game invitations; last season’s win for Iowa marked the coach’s 10th all-time bowl win, tying him with Joe Paterno for the most bowl wins in Big 10 history.

In 2021, Frentz led the Hawkeyes to the Big 10 West Division title, the second in the program’s history.

Senior quarterback Cade McNamara leads the charge on the field for Iowa after joining the Hawkeyes as a graduate transfer from Michigan in 2022. The Reno, Nevada native is averaging a 53.5% pass completion percentage with a total of 417 yards and four passing touchdowns.

McNamara has three total interceptions, with two coming in Iowa’s previous game against Western Michigan.

The rushing game is not McNamara’s specialty as the 6-1, 205-pound quarterback has accumulated negative 45 yards for Iowa on the ground.

Iowa will be without some of its starters for the Big Ten battle. Iowa released its depth chart for the Penn State matchup Monday and starting running back Kaleb Johnson and his backup Jaziun Patterson will both be missing the game. The Hawkeyes starting tight end Luke Lachey will also be out following an injury.

The history

All time since their first meeting in 1930, the Nittany Lions lead the series over the Hawkeyes 17-14. Penn State held a six-game winning streak from 2011 to 2019 before Iowa defeated the Nittany Lions in 2020, which was the last time they were in State College. Iowa took the last matchup between the teams on Oct. 9, 2021 in Iowa with a final of 23-20 for the Hawkeyes.

Penn State is 7-8 at home against Iowa. Both programs will be looking to remain undefeated on Saturday.